Boundless Ambition
by BraveThePwnsome
Summary: A young apprentice's life is changed forever when his parents are murdered.
1. Allegiances

**Hello and thanks for coming to read my fanfiction! This one is about Shadepaw, an apprentice of ThunderClan, and how he becomes more aggressive and ambitious after the death of his parents, as well as his choice between revenge and forgiveness.**

**This is partially based off a roleplay I was in. It unfortunately closed down a few months after I started roleplaying with him so unfortunately his story was never fully told, up until now. Character names have been changed, however.**

**This story is rated T for a reason! There will be a fair amount of violence- not much more than in a normal Warriors book, but still, be prepared. There may also be some rather 'romantic' scenes (but once again, not much worse than in a Warriors book). Enjoy!**

**ThunderClan**

Leader: Moonstar- pale gray tom with blue eyes

Deputy: Stormcall- dark gray tom with green eyes

Medicine Cat: Dappleleaf- calico she-cat with amber eyes

Warriors:

Lionclaw- dark orange tom with amber eyes

Ebonyfur- black she-cat with green eyes

APPRENTICE, CREAMPAW

Violetflower- blue-gray she-cat with amber eyes

Sandpath- pale orange tabby tom with yellow eyes

Silverthorn- silver she-cat with white patches and light blue eyes

APPRENTICE, ICEPAW

Rainshadow- gray tom with coppery orange eyes

Thornfang- dark brown tom with green eyes

APPRENTICE, SHADEPAW

Apprentices:

Icepaw- white tom with pale green eyes

Shadepaw- dark tabby tom with orange eyes

Creampaw- pale brown she-cat with blue eyes

Queens:

Emeraldgaze- dark brown tabby she-cat with green eyes

Elders:

Orangebreeze- orange she-cat with green eyes

Stumptail- brown tom with a stumpy tail and blue eyes

**RiverClan**

Leader: Icestar- golden she-cat with blue eyes

Deputy: Redfang- dark orange she-cat with green eyes

Medicine Cat: Bravewish- blue cream calico she-cat with green eyes

Warriors:

Thunderblaze- dark gray tom with white patches and pale green eyes

Cloudsky- white tom with pale blue eyes and dark orange paws

APPRENTICE, PEBBLEPAW

Clearwater- blue-gray she-cat with dark blue eyes

Mudsplash- light brown she-cat with murky green eyes

Riverpath- blue-gray tom with deep green eyes

APPRENTICE, SMOKEPAW

Apprentices:

Pebblepaw- light gray and white she-cat with blue eyes

Smokepaw- gray tom with white paws and amber eyes

Queens:

Sunflower- dark ginger she-cat with yellow eyes; mother to Blizzardkit (white tom with pale yellow eyes)

Elders:

Skyleap- black and white tom with blue eyes

Tigerstripe- orange tom with black stripes and green eyes

**ShadowClan**

Leader: Yellowstar- sandy brown tom with yellow eyes

Deputy: Flurrybreeze- white tom with pale blue eyes and a black tail

Medicine Cat: Pineclaw- brown tom with green eyes

APPRENTICE, LONGFUR (dark gray tom with long fur, a broad, flat face, and green eyes)

**WindClan**

Leader: Breezestar- calico she-cat with green eyes

Deputy: Snowleap- white tom with orange eyes

Medicine Cat: Mintleaf- dark brown tom with blue eyes

APPRENTICE, WHITEWHISKER (brown and white tom with blue eyes)

**Outside the Clans**

Raven- black tom with pale green eyes

Sandy- pale orange tabby tom with light green eyes

Fleece- black tom with amber eyes


	2. Prologue

_ThunderClan. My Clan, my home._

The tabby tom swept his gaze over the forest, his orange eyes twinkling as they took in his territory. _Such a shame that I must leave it. _He rose to his feet, limbs shaking and bones creaking with age, and stumbled down from the Highrock and into the clearing. He let out a loud cough, the only indicator of his bad health, and padded by the medicine cat's den, where a dark gray tabby was working diligently, passing out herbs to the sickened cats. _No Clan could rival our strength, our cleverness. _

He turned away from the medicine cat's den and saw his old mate walking towards him, her muzzle graying with age. He didn't speak to her; he simply padded away, back into his den.

_If I am to die, it is in solitude. Just like my entire life has been._

He laid himself down in his nest. Memories of his life- his apprenticeship, his life as a warrior, his mates, his children, and finally, his decisions as a leader. _I could have done better. Much better. But ThunderClan is strong now. _

A cat appeared by the entrance of his den, his whiskers twitching. He had a blackbird clamped firmly in his jaws, and stifling a sneeze, set it before him. "You must eat," he mewed. "We can't lose our leader, not when we're on the verge of battle."

The tabby tom shooed him away, his tail flicking in displeasure. He tried to take a bite of the prey, but gagged on it and spat it out. _No need to drag this on longer than it needs to go. _He was fully aware of his death, the closeness of it. Every time he closed his eyes he could see stars. Waiting for him. Waiting to drag his spirit away, to them.

Slowly he lowered his head onto his paws. His eyes scanned the clearing in front of him once more, before finally he closed them and succumbed to the darkness.


	3. Chapter One: The Ceremony

**Chapter One: The Ceremony **

"And from this day on, you shall be known as Shadepaw."

The clearing rang with the voices of cats, calling his name. "Shadepaw! Shadepaw!" they cheered, so loud that Shadepaw tried to flatten his ears to his head to block some of the noise out.

"Your mentor shall be Thornfang. Thornfang, I expect you to pass on your bravery and courage to this young apprentice."

Shadepaw shuddered as he saw his new mentor, staring at him from across the clearing, eyes narrowed in displeasure. Hesitantly, like he had seen other apprentices do, he went to touch noses with his mentor, who recoiled instantly. _Nice to meet you too._

"What will we do today?" he asked. He shrank back a little when he saw Thornfang's green eyes glitter with annoyance, as if he shouldn't have asked the question at all.

"A tour of the territory," he mewed after a long silence. He stood up, beckoning Shadepaw forward with his tail, and they padded out of the camp entrance into the forest.

Shadepaw had only seen a little bit of the forest from the camp opening; he had never realized how huge it was, despite his mother's insistence to him as a kit. He found himself straying away from Thornfang, poking around in every nook and cranny, at every rock and fallen tree, until Thornfang hissed at him to keep up. _Why did I have to get stuck with him, anyway? He clearly hates me._

After awhile they stopped and Thornfang gestured with his tail towards a sparkling river a few tail lengths ahead. "That is RiverClan territory," he mewed. He then turned to a pile of boulders farther along the shore. "And that is Sunningrocks. It belongs to RiverClan as of now, but Moonstar is discussing plans of taking it back sooner or later."

Shadepaw tipped his head to one side. "Why? It's just a bunch of stupid rocks."

Thornfang narrowed his eyes at him. "Follow me," he hissed.

Shadepaw stumbled after him, this time simply following him rather than exploring. They followed the course of the river until it twisted and turned away from then and into RiverClan territory. Thornfang paused when the forest began to transition to pine trees rather than the usual birch and oak trees of ThunderClan territory. "This is ShadowClan territory," Thornfang mewed. "Many say that they are the coldest and evillest of cats and are not to be trusted." Thornfang shook his head. "Or at least, those who believe in tales made up to scare kits."

Shadepaw nodded and followed him as they padded alongside the ShadowClan border. A little while later the forest gave way to rolling hills as far as he could see, as well as Twoleg buildings off in the distance.

"And this is WindClan territory," Thornfang mewed. "They're said to be the swiftest runners of the Clans, able to catch even the fastest rabbits." Shadepaw shuddered at the thought of living out in the open, with no protection whatsoever.

"Where do they sleep, out there in the open?" Shadepaw asked.

"Probably in their camp, mousebrain." Thornfang snorted. "Come on. Let's go back."

Shadepelt padded back into camp, his legs aching. He had never walked so far in his life!

His mother, Emeraldgaze, padded up to greet him. "How did it go?" she asked, a little too enthusiastically.

"Fine," Shadepaw mewed. _Although Thornfang was a pain in the neck the entire time. _

"It would have been better if you hadn't been wandering off to sniff at every plant and poke at every bush," Thornfang muttered before padding off to the warriors' den.

Emeraldgaze narrowed her eyes at him as he left, before turning to Shadepaw again. "Moonstar's discussing plans of fighting RiverClan to take over Sunningrocks," she mewed. "Most likely within the next moon."

"Sunningrocks? What good are they?" Shadepaw asked. "They're just a bunch of boulders."

Emeraldgaze glared at him. "They serve as hunting grounds during the winter," she mewed, her voice curt. "And too much blood has been shed over those rocks to give them up to RiverClan now."

Shadepaw bit his tongue. _If we've had so many cats die over a bunch of stupid rocks, then shouldn't we _stop _trying to take __them back? _Nodding slowly, he padded towards the apprentices' den. He had yet to meet his two denmates- Icepaw, the oldest apprentice with a pelt white as snow, and Creampaw, who was extremely timid and at the sight of Shadepaw scooted towards the back of the den.

"Ah, Shadepaw," Icepaw mewed, his eyes scanning the apprentice as he entered. "Thornfang must have kept you busy."

Shadepaw nodded slowly. "Who mentors the pair of you?"

"Silverthorn mentors me and Ebonyfur mentors Creampaw," Icepaw mewed. "I used to be mentored by Stumptail, but he had to retire two moons into training. A shame, really."

Shadepaw shrugged. "Where do I sleep?" he mewed, his voice bored and uninterested.

"Right there in the back of the den, by Creampaw's nest," Icepaw mewed, a mischievous look in his eyes. "Don't mind her- she's always shy. We've been sharing the den for over a season and she still acts scared of me."

Shadepaw rolled his eyes and shuffled over to his nest. As he laid down in it he could feel bits of twig and tiny stones mixed in with the bedding, meaning that whoever had gathered it last had obviously done a horrible job of it. But he was so weary he didn't care, and quickly fell asleep.


	4. Chapter Two: Assault

The next morning it had grown considerably chillier. An icy breeze was constantly blowing into the apprentices' den, and no matter how hard he tried, Shadepaw couldn't keep warm in his nest. So he stood up, stretching each leg in turn, and with care to avoid waking up his denmates, strode out into the clearing.

Evidently he hadn't been the only cat that was woken up by the sudden change in weather; Lionclaw, Stormcall and Stumptail were all sitting out in the clearing, along with Orangebreeze and Ebonyfur. He pricked his ears and could hear other warriors stirring in their nests as well.

"Hello, Shadepaw," he heard Stumptail mew as he padded by them. Shadepaw acknowledged his greeting with a dip of his head before padding over to the fresh-kill pile.

Unlike the other times he had seen the fresh kill pile, there was actually enough prey to go around, so without hesitance he picked out a shrew and padded off with it, towards the barrier of the apprentices' den, and watched as the other cats began to wake up and pad out of their dens. He flinched when he heard Icepaw pad up beside him.

"You're as bad as Creampaw," he laughed when he saw that he had startled Shadepaw. "Practically afraid of your own shadow!" He tapped him on the shoulder with his tail as he left, snorting.

Shadepaw could hear another cat moving around behind him and spun around. Creampaw had woken up and was slowly padding out of the den, but had recoiled when he turned around. "Oh, come on," he mewed. "No sense in being a fraidy-cat."

Creampaw nodded, and bravely stood up and padded by him, her fur bristling. _She's always so anxious, almost like a rabbit or a hare, even if none of us have done anything to startle her that badly. Oh well, who knows. Maybe there's something actually wrong with her._

Shadepaw watched as she stumbled out into the clearing, then followed her. He flinched when he saw Thornfang's vengeful gaze boring into his skin as soon as he caught sight of him. _Great StarClan, what is up with him? _

Thornfang narrowed his eyes. "We're going over hunting tactics today." He muttered something else under his breath, which was too faint for Shadepaw to understand. _Probably an insult, like always._

Shadepaw nodded slowly, and followed him as he padded out of camp. Unlike yesterday's training session, they didn't have to walk very far outside the camp; about a few minutes after they had left they came across a small clearing, surrounded by bushes with a tree in the center, presumably for climbing.

"You probably won't hunt anything today," Thornfang mewed. "We have a lot to go over."

"Wouldn't it make more sense to let me hunt and try out my new skills?" Shadepaw asked, puzzled. "I mean, it couldn't take me that long to learn them."

Thornfang narrowed his eyes, and Shadepaw knew as soon as the words had left his mouth he shouldn't have said anything. _Great. Now he's going to be in an even worse mood than ever._

But Thornfang didn't respond. Instead, he crouched down, his belly fur just barely brushing the ground, and his tail kinked over his back. "When stalking your prey, you must keep your footfalls light. Avoid stepping on twigs or dry leaves; prey animals are very nervous creatures, and usually have very good hearing."

Shadepaw nodded and dropped into a crouch, trying to mirror his mentor. Slowly he pulled himself forward, keeping an eye on the ground to avoid putting his paws in the wrong place.

"Try pouncing on that leaf over there without making a sound," Thornfang mewed.

Shadepaw fixed his eyes on a large leaf, probably about the size of his head, which was only a few taillengths away from him. Slowly and cautiously, he stalked it, occasionally glancing beneath him to avoid any debris, and in one swift move, pounced on it. Or rather, near it; he had misjudged the distance and ended up just whiskers away from it.

Thornfang shook his head, displeasure glinting in his eyes. "If you're stalking prey you must be very careful to judge the distance; if you try to pounce on it from too far away, you'll alert it to your presence."

_As if I already didn't know, _Shadepaw thought irritably. _I'm not stupid._

Shadepaw attempted to pounce on another leaf again, but missed, this time only by a hair. Thornfang shook his head again, his eyes narrowed. "No, no, no, you've got it all wrong," he mewed. "And your crouch is more lopsided than a three-legged badger!"

Shadepaw stifled a growl, knowing it would only make things worse, and tried a third time. This time, he landed on the leaf, and felt triumph course through him. But Thornfang was still unimpressed.

"How about we see you catch a real piece of prey?" he mewed, his voice possessing a mocking undertone. Shadepaw narrowed his eyes and scanned the clearing for any signs of other life, but unfortunately, there wasn't any. Thornfang smirked, and Shadepaw's fur began to bristle. _Don't growl at him. It will only make things harder for you._

And without a word, Shadepaw vanished into the bushes.

Thornfang had never wanted an apprentice; he thought they were pesky, smug brats that needed to be put in their place. So when he was assigned with one, he was not the happiest of cats.

Today he decided to take Shadepaw hunting, to make him useful. Big mistake.

Shadepaw was not exactly bold or arrogant; Thornfang assumed that yesterday's events had quieted him down, put him down enough so at the very least he knew not to challenge him. And yet he did again; not verbally, like last time, but by ditching him to go find prey. _At least, I hope he's looking for prey. StarClan knows what he's doing right now._

After waiting a few minutes to see if Shadepaw would return- either with prey in his jaws or in submission to Thornfang's obvious authority- he ran after him, following his scent trail. First it led him to the bushes surrounding the camp entrance, then away into the forest, in the direction of the RiverClan border. He had made no attempt to cover his tracks, making it much easier to follow him.

Thornfang paused when he heard a cat muttering up ahead. _Shadepaw. _Slowly he dropped into a crouch, stalking Shadepaw like he would a piece of prey, and when he was just behind him, pounced, bowling him over headfirst.

He let out a snarl, not bothering to sheathe his claws as he pummeled at the apprentice. "Why did you run off?" he snarled. "Trying to make me look like a fool? Well, guess who looks like one now!"

Shadepaw battered at his ears, but his blows were nowhere near as precise, as targeted as Thornfang's were. He smacked the apprentice across the face and could see pain flash in his eyes as his claws tore through his flesh, blood welling at the scratch marks he had made.

"What in StarClan's name are you doing?"

Thornfang's heart dropped into his stomach and he quickly backed away from the apprentice. But it wasn't another ThunderClan cat; no, it was a RiverClan tom, peering at him through the bushes. "Get off our territory, nosy!" he snarled.

"And let you beat up an apprentice?" the tom growled. "I'll leave, but if I hear you two fighting again...well, I may intervene." With a snarl, the tom spun around and vanished. Thornfang heard a splash and assumed he must be swimming back to his camp through the river.

Shadepaw stood up, shaking out his fur and sending droplets of blood showering over the ground. "Let's go," Thornfang growled. And like that, he walked away, making little noise as he left and leaving a dazed, injured apprentice in his wake.


End file.
